The Friend
by StoryQueen85
Summary: Wander meets a Star Muse named Sazzy, and she stays with him and Sylvia for a while. However, Sylvia dislikes her a lot because of her clumsiness. After the two nomads find out a terrible secret about her, Wander mysteriously goes missing. Will Sylvia and Sazzy be able to get along so they can save him?
1. Chapter 1

"Do you hear that?"

Wander looked down at Sylvia from the branch he was sitting. He had been playing a soft tune on his banjo when he heard a faint giggling, interrupting him. Sylvia looked confused. "You mean the giggling? Then yes," she replied, going back to what she had been doing. "Where is that comin' from?" Wander stood up and climbed farther up the tree to look for the source of the giggling.

There was a slight rustling in a nearby bush so he went to investigate. "I'll be right back, Sylvia!" he called down as he jumped down from the tree and walked toward the bush. The giggling got louder the closer he got. He stopped at the rustling bush, the giggling loudly audible. He parted the leaves in the bush to reveal a tiny silver-gray Star Muse, a girl. She stopped giggling and looked up at him. Her cheeks were fluffy. "Oh, hi!" her voice resembled one of a small child. Around her neck was a baby blue scarf with a star pin clipped onto the front.

She stood up and jumped forward, landing only a few inches away from Wander. She was about 3 inches shorter than Wander was without his hat. "I'm Sazzy, what's your name?" she immediately grabbed Wander's hand and shook it quickly. "Folks call me Wander, nice to meet ya Sazzy!"Wander smiled at her. "What brings ya here?"

Sazzy's smile dropped. "Well, I uh... just tryin' to get away from a few things," she replied. Wander hesitated, not wanting her to feel sad or anything. "You wanna come meet my best pal Sylvia?" he asked hopefully, smiling big and wide. Sazzy grinned weakly. "Sure," she replied quietly, rocking back and forth on her feet. "Alright, come on!" Wander dashed off with Sazzy in tow. Wander stopped at the tree he had been resting at before and Sazzy rammed into him, making both of them fall. She got up and backed away a few steps. "Oops! Sorry, Wander."

"'Sal right!" Wander stood up as well and dusted himself off. "Hey, Sylvia, I'm back!" he called out. The azure Zbornak stood up as the two walked toward her. "Who's that?" she immediately asked when she saw Sazzy. "Sylvia, meet Sazzy, Sazzy, meet Sylvia!" Wander introduced the two to each other. Sazzy grabbed Sylvia's hand and shook it with both of hers. "Nice to meet you!"

Sylvia stared at the two standing together. They could have brother and sister if it weren't for the fur color. "Uh... nice to meet you too..." Sylvia muttered. Wander looked up at the sky. "It's gonna get dark real soon, guys," he turns to Sazzy. "Do you have a place to stay Sazzy? If ya'd like to, you could stay with us for tonight!"

He pointed to himself and Sylvia, continuing to do this until he got an answer. "Well my dad might-" Sazzy started, but began to reconsider. "Okay, sure!"

"Okay, great!" Wander exclaimed and hopped onto Sylvia's saddle. He reached out his hand to Sazzy so she could get on with him. She hesitated, looking back and forth between his hand and his face. "It's alright! We won't hurt ya! Right, Sylvia?" Wander assured her. Sylvia just grunted. "Well, alright," Sazzy grabbed onto his hand. He pulled her up and sat her behind him. Sylvia began running almost at top speed. Sazzy squealed and grabbed onto Wander's waist, squeezing him tight. He grinned, looking over his shoulder. "It's alright, Saz!" he promised. "Look, we're almost here anyway!"

Sylvia came to an immediate stop when she reached a small site with a fire ring and four logs placed in a square around it. Wander hopped off of Sylvia and helped Sazzy off as well. The sky had already grown dark and shining stars were beginning to come visible in the sky. "Wow, would ya look at that!" Wander pointed to the sky. Sazzy looked to where his finger was pointing, but all she could see was the stars in the sky. "What?"

"Why, the stars! Don't they look amazing tonight?" Wander smiled, laying down to look at the sky. "They just look like ordinary stars," Sazzy commented, not quite understanding what Wander thought was so interesting about the sky. "What's so special about them?"

"What _isn't?_" Wander replied, not tearing his eyes away from the night sky. Sazzy looked at him for a moment, admiring his enthusiasm. "Oh! That reminds me," he sat up and looked over to her. "Do you have somethin' to keep ya warm tonight?"

"Not that I know of... Usually every night I'd sleep in my bed at home," Sazzy replied, feeling a little homesick. But she knew she couldn't go back. "You could use mah hat," Wander offered. "I usually use it as a sleeping bag, but you can use it tonight. I can live without it for one night."

His cheeks were blushed. "You don't have to," Sazzy argued. "It's freezin' out here tonight, and I know you're used to a comfy warm bed and all, so I wouldn't want you to not have a cover," Wander protested, setting the hat next to her. Sazzy smiled, grabbing the hat and holding it close to her. "Thanks, Wander. I appreciate it," she thanked him quietly as he curled up into a little ball to preserve body heat and fell asleep on Sylvia's saddle.


	2. Chapter 2

Wander was the first to wake as usual. The sun was only barely rising over the horizon, telling him it was about dawn. He stretched his arms and slid down off of Sylvia's back. He looked over at Sazzy, who was curled up in his hat, sleeping peacefully on a log. Only the top of her fluffy head was visible over the brim.

He walked over to her, watching the hat rise and fall with her breaths. He grinned, sitting on the log beside her. She was mumbling in her sleep. "No, stop, get away," he could make out. She began to toss and turn. _She must be having a nightmare,_ Wander thought, debating back and forth to himself if he should wake her up or not. "What are you doing?" she mumbled, beginning to kick the side of the hat. She squealed, shutting her eyes tight and moving as if she were being punched in the gut. Wander gasped in horror and quickly shoke her awake. Sazzy awoke immediately, panting heavily as she shot up. She crawled out of the hat and handed it back to Wander who put it back atop his head in the normal position. "You were having a nightmare," Wander explained when she looked at him curiously.  


"How could you tell?" Sazzy asked, not wanting to admit this was true. "You were tossing and turning and mumbling 'Get away,' in your sleep," Wander replied, his apology showing clearly in his eyes. "Oh," Sazzy whispered and looked down at her feet. She had been wearing grey socks with a hole in the heel of her left foot.

"Ya hungry?" Wander asked, changing the subject. "A little," Sazzy replied. She sat down on the log an inch away from Wander. She had a small smile on her face. "Alrighty!" Wander hopped up and pulled off his hat. He reached into it and pulled out a bowl and quickly put it back on his head. He did this so quickly that Sazzy might have missed it if she blinked. He set down the bowl and walked of in search of some fruit nearby. Sazzy watched him leave until he was no longer in sight. She turned away from the direction he had left and looked over at his pal, Sylvia. She'd noticed the Zbornak wasn't as fond of her as Wander had been.

At that moment, the azure Zbornak was sleeping soundly, snoring softly through her nostrils with a happy grin on her face. Sazzy watched her with great interest, although she hadn't really been doing anything. "Hey, Saz!"

Sazzy heard Wander call out to her from not too far away. She stood up and walked toward the direction the voice had come from. "Could ya help me for a sec?" Wander called out once again. Sazzy saw his thin, fuzzy orange balloon-like figure in the distance. He was on his tip-toes, reaching his arms up high to attempt to grab an apple from a tree. Sazzy walked closer until she was only a foot away. "Could ya possibly give me a boost?" Wander looked down at her, shrugging his shoulders. "Uh... sure," Sazzy agreed reluctantly and crouched down so he could climb on her shoulders. He did exactly that and waited for her to stand up straight so he could grab the apple.

Sazzy quickly straightened her legs. Wander wobbled a little before reaching up toward the apple. He had been a little heavier compared to Sazzy, even though he was a lot thinner than her. She stumbled a little, delaying Wander's apple for whatever dish he wanted to make. "Hold still," he warned her, flailing his arms to keep him balance. "Trying!" Sazzy grunted, trying to brace herself as she straightened her legs again. Wander reached out for the apple again. Just as his hand was about to make contact to the fruit, Sazzy lost her footing and slipped, causing the both the Star Nomad and The Star Muse to fall.

"Oops," Sazzy chuckled as Wander stood up. "Sorry, Wander."

"That's alright, Saz. The dish will be alright without the apple anyway," he reached out his hand to help her up. She grabbed onto his hand and he pulled her up. "Could I try?" Sazzy looke up at the large red apple, hanging from the tree temptingly. Wander gave her a doubtful look before gesturing a "go ahead." Sazzy grabbed onto the tree's trunk and pulled herself up. She scooted farther up the tree before reaching the branch the apple had hung from. She pulled herself onto the branch and stood up, walking on it toward the apple like she was walking on a tightrope. "Almost... got... it..." she said in between steps. "You alright?" Wander called up to her, watching her every movement just in case she fell. "Yeah," Sazzy called back down, pausing a second before walking back toward the red delicious.

It seemed like forever before she reached the fruit. She crouched down and sat on her knees. She reached down toward the apple that hung and pulled it easily off of its step. "Got it!" she called down to Wander and held up the apple. "Great! Now be careful coming-"

Sazzy stood up and once again lost her footing on the slippery branch, plummeting down from the tree. Wander screeched and rushed toward the area he predicted she would land. She almost immediately came down and landed in his arms. "-down," Wander finished his previous sentence with a smile. Sazzy handed him the shiny red apple before he set her down. "Heh, thanks," Sazzy murmured, grabbing her arm in embarrassment. "No, thank you," Wander held up the apple before dropping it in his hat. "Let's get back to cook this, shall we?" he suggested. "Absolutely. All of that gave me a huge appetite," Sazzy replied with amuzement. The two shared smiles before starting back toward their campsite.


	3. Chapter 3

Sylvia was the last to wake as usual. When she awoke, the sun was only just over the horizon. Wander had been playing a soft song on his banjo, nodding his head to the tune. "Mornin', Sylvia," he greeted her, not taking his attention away from his music. The Star Muse, Sazzy, looked up and smiled. Sylvia grunted in response.

The crackling and hissing of a campfire added into the sounds besides Wander's music. Beside the orange Star Nomad sat two empty bowls stacked on top of each other, then a slightly bigger one than the other two sat next to those, filled with some kind of oatmeal with fruit. He grabbed the full bowl and handed it to Sylvia, still strumming. "Sylvie, I was thinkin' of goin' back to Binglebopolopolis," Wander finally set down his banjo. "I heard that there's another fair goin' on."

"Really?" Sylvia set down her now-empty bowl. Wander nodded. "I wonder if Lord Hater ever went back there," Sylvia muttered, pouring water on the fire to set it out. Sazzy immediately looked up. "L-Lord Hater?"

Both Wander and Sylvia looked at her in confusion. "Last time we were at Binglebopolopolis, Lord Hater had taken over the town but Wander and I showed him," Sylvia explained with a laugh while she and Wander high-fived. "So that's where we're goin'?" Wander asked eagerly, jumping to his feet. "I guess so," Sylvia got to her feet as well. Sazzy looked at both of them before shakily standing up. "Ya okay, Saz?" Wander tilted his head. Sazzy hadn't realized until just then that she had started to tremble and bite her lip with nervousness. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine," she assured him and forced herself to stop. "Alrighty," Wander shrugged, smiling wide and hopping onto Sylvia's back. He reached out his hand to Sazzy. She hesitated at first. "Ya comin'?"

Sazzy looked up at him before letting him pull her up onto the saddle behind him. He pulled off his hat and reached inside, grabbing his bottle of orbal juice and making a large bubble around all three of them. He put the hat back atop his fuzzy head before Sylvia jumped up and out of the planet's barrier and into the galaxy.

Sazzy squealed and wrapped her arms

around Wander's shoulders. "Look at that," Wander gasped for emphasis. He pointed toward a constellation of stars creating the image of another star. Sazzy looked up, noticing that she had started to tremble again.

The stars flashed quickly all around them from the speed Sylvia had been going. Streaks of light followed every star as they went past. There were blue stars, pink stars, red stars, white stars, yellow stars, and even _green_ stars. As Sazzy had expected, Wander had already been mesmerized by the view. He just sat with his mouth wide open in a smile, staring at the stars up, down, and around their orbal bubble.

The three neared a happy pink bouncing planet that seemed to bounce up and down. "There it is!" Wander exclaimed, leaning forward and pointing. He hopped off of Sylvia's back and pressed his face against the side of the bubble. Sazzy nearly fell off, but she managed to get a grip on the edges of the saddle. Sylvia squinted her eyes. _What the..._

She swore she saw _Hater's_ ship flying in hyperspeed towards the little planet in the distance. She slowed down a little. Before she knew it- _boom -_the ship landed on the tiny planet with a crash. "WOAH!" Sylvia came to a complete stop this time; the recoil knocking both Sazzy and Wander over. "What gives?" Sazzy groaned, standing up with wobbly legs. Sylvia ignored her and watched Wander get up and look at her with confusion. "Did you not just see Hater's ship crashland on Bingleborp?" Sylvia protested even though he hadn't said anything. The Star Nomad turned around and noticed the ship. "Oh," he muttered, not taking his eyes away from the planet. "Should we go and help?"

His voice sounded hopeful. "I don't know, Wander. La-" Sylvia began, but Wander interrupted her by giving her puppy eyes and a begging look. "Oh, fine," the Zbornak growled and set off for the planet once more.

* * *

When the three arrived to the surface of Bingleborp, almost everything was Hater-ified. Watchdogs were already pouring out of the ship in hundreds, some already working on Hater-fying the town. "Does this dude ever take a break?" Sylvia muttered, staring at the entrance to Binglebopolopolis. Wander had returned to his spot on her saddle while Sazzy clung to her tail. The Zbornak had spent nearly five minutes trying to shake and pry her off, but the Star Muse was clung on to her like superglue. Wander was already thinking of a plan to send Hater away. "Hmmm," he scratched the top of his head. "Ding!"

He hopped off and ran as fast as he could into Binglebopolopolis. "WANDER!" Sylvia ran after him, whacking her tail off of the ground to try to get Sazzy off of her meanwhile. However Sazzy stayed put, worried of what would happen if Hater saw her.

Wander nearly got halfway to Hater's ship until he ran into a watchdog. To Sylvia's dismay, this watchdog happened to be Peepers. "You!" Peepers pulled out his ray gun and readied it to shoot. "Wait," a voice came from behind him. Peepers turned around to meet his boss. A wide devilish smile was on the skeleton's face. He grabbed Wander around his waist. "NOW I'VE GOT YOU!" he boomed, Wander struggling to get free from his grip. His hat fell off of his head as Hater took the Star Nomad back to his ship. "WAIT!" Sazzy screamed and ran after Hater, nearly tripping once or twice. "Sazzy?" Hater turned around. "SAZZY?!"

* * *

**After a short hiatus, this story's back on air! I started this chapter about a week ago but my computer decided to keep crashing when I was almost finished, so it look a while to get done. Sorry if this one's a bit short, but chapter 4 will make up for it.**

**~StoryQueen85**


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